![]() He condemned the corrupt religion of the day as well as any religious or government or economic system that hurt the poor, the “unclean,” and the marginalized, and anything that made people wealthy at the expense of the poor. For example, he condemned casual divorce, not all divorce (see Instone-Brewer, Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible and The Source New Testament). Jesus was not condemning partying, celebrations (he turned water into about 800 bottles of wine if you do the math), and nontraditional sexuality he was condemning anything that harms other people. Rather, he was condemning the “world” of mercilessness, violence, retribution, corrupt sacrificial religion, selfish greed, control over people, and authoritative notions of political power. ![]() 4 – Jesus was not condemning everything that is non-religious in the “world.” I like to say he saw the scriptures as a set of human writings with some of God’s fingerprints on it. He did not believe in, nor teach that the Bible was infallible. He contradicted the reciprocal violent narratives of contemporary Jewish sacred texts. He acknowledged that the Bible actually critiques itself and he did the same. Jesus entered into these debates about divine scripture and quoted texts he saw as reinforcing the true nature of God. The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the most popular Jewish scriptures (it was the “Bible” that the early followers of Jesus used), included 14 books that never made it into the later Jewish canon or Protestant Bibles! The Essenes had additional scriptures they saw as divine, one of them I Enoch, was even quoted in the New Testament book of Jude. Probably most other Jews recognized the prophets and some of the wisdom writings as well. That’s why the Sadducees only recognized the Torah. So, at the time of Jesus, there were debates going on about what books should be considered “sacred text” and which shouldn’t. The Jewish people did not decide on a “canon” (a finally accepted list of books) of scripture until the second century. In the first century it was a compilation of sacred writings with no definitive list of books. But basically it boils down to this: Jesus saw the Jewish scriptures like most of his fellow Jews did. This takes a while to deconstruct and I suggest reading my book, Breaking Bad Faith, to get the long version. 3 – Jesus did not believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. So going to church today is optional for anyone who says they follow Jesus or his ethics. It means it’s a model foreign to the original model and it’s problematic. The only admonition for his students or followers was to embrace the love ethic he taught. He never instituted any of the following: Christian priests or pastors who are top leaders of a church, professional clergy, church buildings, church hierarchy, ordination, clergy vestments, statements of faith, creeds, tithing to a church, or other church rules. When Jesus said, “I will build my church,” he simply meant he would build a following of people. The same word is used in Acts to describe a mob that came after Paul. Neither did Jesus (or Paul or Peter) found “the Church.” The Greek word we translate “church” is “ekklesia,” which simply means a gathering of people. 2 – Jesus did not found an institution called “Church.” His intention was never to found a new faith, but merely open up Jewish thought to a belief in a universalist God who abhors corrupt religious systems-priests, sacrifices, temples, or discriminatory religious codes of conduct are counter to true spirituality. You could be a hated Samaritan, Roman, Gentile, or a woman and still enter the community as equals. A person didn’t have to convert to Judaism or a new religion to embark on his path. ![]() He rejected Second Temple Judaism, strict adherence to the law of Moses, and practicing the sacrificial system. Jesus was not a Christian but a universalistic, progressive Jew who opened up Judaism to all (Gentiles and the “unclean”). 1 – Jesus did not start a new religion called Christianity. You can extricate Jesus from religion and see the real deal. And it is distinct from Christianity in general and evangelicalism in particular. Here’s the big idea: Once you understand things like the history of the early Jesus Movement, how Christianity developed into a full-blown religion, Jesus’ historical/cultural/religious context, and how the Bible was compiled and viewed, and in many cases mistranslated, the real message of Jesus emerges.
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